What to do now?

[DTM]

Evening everyone, my first post!

I've recently gotten my first plot, measuring about 200sq m. It had been unused for two years and was one of two empty plots on our tiny 13 plot site, and I had to wait only one day to get my plot!!

When I arrived it was all 6ft high weeds, couch grass and lots of thistles. So unfortunately, after trying to dig, I accepted that in order to make it useable I would have to strum and weedkiller it. Glyphosate has killed pretty much all. Not what I wanted to do but really I didn't have other options.

The situation I'm in now is that I have lots of, basically hay all over the plot. My question is, should I try to rake it all up and add it to my compost bin (made a 3 pallet bin) or leave it as a sort of mulch over the autumn?

Thanks in advance, I've been reading through the posts for ages, thought I'd better join and introduce myself!

Dan

[greenishfing]

Hi! Welcome! I would get rid of anything that had been killed by glyphosate to the skip. I wouldn't want the residue on my plot, but having said that my husband thinks I am paranoid. Maybe others will have more "reasonable" answers.

[mcdood]

I share greenfishing's paranoia.

[Aberdeenplotter]

and welcome from me as well. I'm not a huge fan of using weedkiller on growing areas but I have no issues at all in killing all weeds with a one off application as you have done. Personally I would rake off the dead growth and burn it,

[Greenleaves]

Welcome to the vine, I am in AP's camp on this one. The amount of contaminateds in our soil will certainly out way a one off application

Enjoy the advice and humour

[bikermike]

I'd burn it. But i'd not get too hung up about it in the future. It's done now. It will break down over time. The important thing is to cover where you want to grow things as the weeds will grow back.

[Can the Man]

Hi and welcome to the vine Dan, I’d agree with the others, rake it off and burn it. Maybe cover the soil with polythene sheeting over the winter.

[SarrissUK]

Hi and welcome to the vine

Personally I'm almost religious about my lack of use of weedkillers. They're just not effective long term and cause too much damage in my opinion, so I don't use them.

Instead I work in a no-dig fashion and Charles Dowding is my hero (he falls just short of god status). I have two plots, and both of them badly infested with weeds - plot one mainly thistles and various wild flowers, and plot two deeply infested with couch grass and thistles.
In eight months or so of laying down cardboard on the grass with a few inches of horse manure on top, and initially weeding every week of what managed to push through, now I've got beds that very rarely need weeding in a major way. To me, that method is much kinder to me, those who eat my vegetables, the nature and wildlife around me. And it's been super satisfying to prove the old codgers wrong that said it would never work :P

[MyWifesBrassicas]

I agree with the above.
mulch, mulch and mulch.
Cardboard is free, it's everywhere.
Lay it all over your plot and as thickly as you can, it'll kill anything underneath in time, the worms will love it and the soil improves as a result.
You don't have to do it in a day, take your time and use winter to cover it, it's really easy to find the cardboard and it's surprising how much area you can cover.
Try to use brown cardboard, remove the sellotape and staples.

[DTM]

Thank you all for your advice and welcome!

I hope to never use weedkiller again but did decide that as a one-off it was acceptable, though I'll be going organic from now on.

I was originally planning to rotavate now everything is dead, particularly the couch grass. Then dig it over manually. Will the roots just tangle up in the rotavator or would it cut through them? Perhaps if I just cover it over the winter the roots will have rotted away? Feels a shame not to be able to do anything for so long though.

Thanks again everyone!

[Baldy]

And it's been super satisfying to prove the old codgers wrong that said it would never work :P

I resemble that remark!

Actually I'm pretty much no-dig now - and have found cardboard and other mulch to be effective at keeping the weeds down.
From the sounds of things I think you might be best advised to dig the couch roots out - I've never been 100% certain that a dose of weedkiller will kill couch off that reliably and if there is still some life left in some of the roots then running a rotavator through them will simply increase the number of viable weed roots in the soil.

I'd suggest marking out beds and digging the roots out one bed at a time - keeping the rest covered with whatever you can get your hands on. You'll then be able to see some progress and could start using the beds that you have worked on. If you try to do it all in one go you may be discouraged or simply do your back in

Anyhow, welcome along and best of luck.

[Snoop Puss]

Hello and welcome, DTM. I agree with Baldy re couch grass roots. I've got plenty here and it's nigh on indestructible. I'd get rid of it rather than rotavate it back in.

Plus, there's plenty you could be growing now rather than covering the whole lot. If you can get hold of some field bean seeds (Wizard, for example) you can sow those now for a crop next year or just to chop and leave them to rot early next year, adding hummus and nitrogen to the soil. You can grow overwintering green manures and spinach in the same way (see the thread on Gertrud Franck) even if you don't want a crop off it. This is a good time of year for considering onions and garlic too. If you can provide some protection, you might think about winter lettuce too.

Anyway, whatever you do, hope your plot gives you lots of enjoyment and fun.

[Bren In Pots]

DTM you've already had some good advice so all I'll add is to say hello and welcome to the vine.

[ESBkevin]

Welcome, many wise words shared with you here.

I'm tight, so I would gather up all the 'hay' and compost it. The theory is that a hot compost will kill all the weed seeds over winter and once fully composted, any agent in the spray will have been digested and made safe (It is a herbiside so leaf contact is essential). I would turn the whole compost a couple of times and then leave for at least 6 months, longer if possible.

Otherwise I'm another cardboard/mulch No dig advocate.

[Logunner]

Hi

Hitting it with a one off weedkiller, as you have done, is the best approach imo. Rake it off and bag it up in rubble sacks then leave it in a sunny corner of the plot ( next summer ) and let the heat kill off any seeds, otherwise you will be spreading weed seeds everywhere.

Cardboard and newspapers as already suggested will help keep further weeds a bay. Get your hands on used coffee grinds and spread them all over the plot throughout autumn and winter.